Marketing Sparkler Ι

21Aug 2012 by Miss Kemya

Organization With A Simple Blog Planner

Blogging

Are you blogging as part of your overall content marketing strategy? Are you blogging just for personal expression? Are you intimidated by blogging, and have yet to try it? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you're going to like this new organizational tool! Organizing your blog ideas and to-do's can be a rather involved task. How do you manage all your blogging ideas, random notes, affiliate programs, giveaways, new plugins to try, etc.? Personally, I've used a combination of notebooks, different color post-its, lists and spreadsheets to keep track of all my randomness. Although this hodge-podge of methods has worked for me, I admit it's not most efficient way to manage my blogging strategy. It definitely leaves much to be desired. But alas... I found this great…

05Dec 2011 by Miss Kemya

How Much Time Does That Meeting Really Take?

Tips and Tools

What is time to an entrepreneur? Time is a precious resource, much like cash dollars. As you go about building your business, I know you participate in your share of meetings. To what do you charge your meeting time to? If it’s for a current client, that’s part of the cost of doing work for that client, so that’s a no-brainer. But what if you’re taking meetings with prospective clients, how do you figure the cost of your time? Do you know how to identify the real time associated with a meeting? Let’s use this example: I have a lunch meeting that I’ll label as networking/business development with a potential client that I have never met before. I’ve talked to them on the phone, and decided to follow-up with a…

21Sep 2011 by Miss Kemya

Too Many Social Media Choices, I Can’t Decide!

Social Media, Strategy

I can’t count how many times I discuss social media with business owners and they feel like they can’t get the hang of a particular platform. Or they feel like they should be using them all, and they get completely overwhelmed at all the options popping up pretty regularly. Here’s my advice: don’t feel coerced into stretching yourself across all the social media platforms out there. You won’t have time to run your business! Here’s the one thing these business owners (and maybe you) don’t understand: Not all social media platforms are created equal. They each have a purpose, user group, frequency of use, their own language, etc. Start with the most commonly used platforms and learn the ropes. Read some articles/how-to’s on each platform. Review the FAQs, user guides, and…

18Jul 2011 by Miss Kemya

Quick Tip: Stay In The Know With Paper.li

Social Media

Do you publish a paper.li newspaper? If not, do you subscribe to someone else’s paper.li? If you’re scratching your head wondering what I’m talking about, a paper.li is a free service that basically takes links from the people you follow on social media and organizes the links into a virtual newspaper. You can create your own paper.li based on a list, hashtag, a user, or a custom setting with advanced features. Once you choose your source, you can name your paper and set it to generate daily or weekly and receive the latest editions via email. Just like a newspaper, there are sections for Headlines, Business, Arts & Entertainment, etc. and popular hashtags. So go ahead and create your own paper.li newspaper or subscribe to one you like. I’m sure…

29Jun 2011 by Miss Kemya

3 Quick Tips For Using RSS For Business

Social Media, Strategy

Ever been puzzled by this little orange symbol that appears on blogs and websites? And why should your business be using RSS feed anyway? If you are in business of any kind, here are 3 quick tips for using RSS feed to subscribe to websites and blogs to help your business. 1. It provides one neat place to keep track of updated content from your favorite sites. No more surfing individual sites for content. aka time-saver 2. Makes industry research a much simpler task. Keep up on trending topics by following the leading sites, experts and authorities in your industry. aka easy-research 3. Your clients/potential clients can subscribe to your updates if you give them the RSS feed option. Not everyone wants to share their email address to receive your…

14Jun 2011 by Miss Kemya

Twitter Is For Right Now – Not Yesterday!

Social Media

There are many articles that tell you how little time it takes to use social media. Yet, if you're a relatively new user, this will sound like hogwash! It can take several hours to understand how to use just one social media platform. However, once you're up and running, your time spent can be drastically reduced. You'd be amazed at how the pros manage their time using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs, etc. There really is a method to the "spend 20 minutes a day" advice you hear out there. Today's quick tip is an invaluable lesson I learned several months ago from Warriorpreneur Ann Evanston: When using Twitter, don't go backwards in your timeline to get caught up. When you open Twitter, depending on which platform you're using (Hootsuite, iPhone, etc.),…

31May 2011 by Miss Kemya

Are Networking Mixers A Waste Of Time?

Networking

Before you get all defensive, I know plenty of people swear by the networking mixer as a great way to cast a wide net and meet a bunch of potential clients. As a general rule I don’t attend these types of events unless I have a purpose. Mingling by itself is not a purpose; I mean a defined (often quantifiable) objective. What prompted this post? I recently attended the worst networking mixer ever! I mean poor sound quality, multiple presenters just pitched and offered nothing of value, no traffic flow or structure within a huge lounge space, and… the attendees didn’t actually network. I went to meet a friend (and future client), and we both wanted to learn more about the hosting organization. My friend and I actually had a…

03May 2011 by Miss Kemya

Working Full Time and Part Time Can Work!

Tips and Tools

I try to start every work day by reading a thought-provoking business article of inspiration to get me motivated. This morning was no exception, and I was inspired to deliver this quick post. I work at a full-time corporate job while running my consulting business part-time and have done so for several years. It is with this arrangement that I have been able to meet some fascinating people and explore so many opportunities that I wouldn't have been able to leverage as easily otherwise. All the while I have been able to hone my leadership skills while managing other people's schedules, projects, and implementing their strategic objectives. I still find time to volunteer time as a mentor, committee member, etc. as I connect the dots between my day job, consulting biz, and personal passions. You'll never…

Tag: time management